We received requests for support from two individuals that had been charged with a) vandalizing a Donald Trump golf course; b) spray-painting the slogan “Your Heroes Murder” on a Vietnam War memorial and two police cars. This lead to a lively discussion in the Decisions Crew about whether these actions were specifically anti-fascist/anti-racist enough to warrant tapping the Defence Fund.

On one hand, it was argued that these acts were acts of solidarity with marginalized groups that are underrepresented and under protected in an area with a long history of white supremacist activity. But on the other hand, it was counter-argued that these acts were not specific enough to antifa activity and seemed more aligned with broader political objectives (e.g. anarchist/anti-war/anti-police).

In the end, we could not reach consensus and had to make the call via majority vote, with the majority of Decisions Crew members voting against. It was a tough call, but it was also a good and important discussion.

There will no doubt be dozens of crowdfunding campaigns and appeals for donations to help the victims of this weekend’s racist violence and heavy-handed police repression of anti-fascism and anti-racism in Charlottesville. Most will be well-intentioned expressions of solidarity; some will be poorly thought-out or even deliberately deceptive and fraudulent.

We have three recommendations for those willing to support the arrested, the injured, and the families of the deceased:

1) Vet any crowdfunding campaign asking for your support carefully. Make sure the crowdfunding campaign has a clear way to get the money raised to the anti-fascists and anti-racists who need it. Are they in touch with the antifa, their families or friends, their doctors or lawyers? Have any of the people the crowdfunder is going to support endorsed the crowdfunder? Have they explained their relationship to those people?

Third: Having failed to stab her to death; and having failed to get her fired through a terror campaign against her employer & her students, the fascist filth now have their buddies in law enforcement trying to take Yvette down by fabricating trumped-up charges against her.